Thursday, June 30, 2011

The government has brushed off a challenge by Cambodia that it formally withdraw from the World Heritage Committee, while denying it was playing up the issue for political gain.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva yesterday said Cambodia should stop interfering in Thai affairs, after its leader Hun Sen stepped into the debate over the government's decision to leave the WHC.

Hun Sen has challenged the government to officially inform the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) if it was serious about withdrawing.

"If you have the heart of a son, you will write a formal letter to the WHC," he told a graduation ceremony in Phnom Penh.

Political commentators have criticised the government for showboating over the issue to attract the support of voters allied to the People's Alliance for Democracy, who have campaigned for the government to withdraw from the WHC to safeguard Thai territory in the disputed border area.

Natural Resources and Environment Minister Suwit Khunkitti, who walked out of a WHC meeting in Paris last week, has been forced to defend his decision amid claims that it discredits the country internationally.

Mr Abhisit said Thailand's decision did not concern Hun Sen, and he should not interfere in the government's work.

He said the government would discuss with Unesco the effects of the WHC's decision not to consider Cambodia's management plan for Preah Vihear temple.

The matter concerned Thailand and Unesco only, Mr Abhisit said. He insisted the government's decision to withdraw from the WHC was meant to protect Thai territory, and not done merely for domestic political advantage.

Thailand has yet to formally withdraw from the body, despite Mr Suwit's assertion from Paris last week that his withdrawal took immediate effect.

The government had campaigned against the WHC discussing Cambodia's management plan for the disputed Preah Vihear temple, and threatened to withdraw if the plan was put on the agenda.

Sources say the meeting was drafting a statement confirming that discussion of the plan would be postponed, which was in line with a decision reached at an earlier WHC meeting in May.

However, the Thai delegation took exception to the wording of the draft, so Mr Suwit walked out.

Campaigning in Samut Sakhon yesterday, Mr Abhisit, who is also Democrat Party leader, said the public should decide whether to vote for the party that was "really" protecting the national interest in a way that might upset the leader of a neighbouring country, or back the local party that was close to Hun Sen.

He was referring to Pheu Thai Party, whose de facto leader, Thaksin Shinawatra, worked as a consultant to Hun Sen's government in 2009.

Mr Abhisit said he did not believe Thais wanted to risk losing border territory, and that his government had succeeded in foiling the World Heritage Committee's consideration of the management plan.

He said if Cambodia sincerely wanted to solve bilateral problems, it should stop complaining to the international community about their border dispute, and resume bilateral negotiations with Thailand.

Cambodian complaints in international forums would only compound bilateral tension, Mr Abhisit said.

Meanwhile, Mr Abhisit denied a rumour in Cambodia that Thailand would attack Cambodia as a ruse to postpone Sunday's election.

Reports suggest Cambodia is reinforcing its military near the border. Mr Abhisit said that while the Thai army had yet to reinforce its own troops, soldiers stood ready to defend the country.

First Army commander Lt Gen Udomdet Seetabut, said Cambodia had fielded infantry companies at two important locations opposite Sa Kaeo province.

While movements on the Cambodian side did not yet justify any concerns, he had ordered troops to strictly screen immigrants and their vehicles entering the country from Cambodia.

In Surin province, Lt Gen Tawatchai Samutsakhon, commander of the 2nd Army, said Cambodia was replacing soldiers along the border, and the risk of a clash could not be ruled out.

Visits to the Ta Muen Thom temple in Phanom Dong Rak district had been suspended for safety reasons.

Cambodian soldiers visited the temple to monitor the movements of Thai soldiers. Thai soldiers told their Cambodian counterparts to disarm before entering the temple.

Border trade continued and gamblers still crossed the border to casinos in Cambodia through the Chong Jom border pass in Surin as usual.

Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya said Thailand's withdrawal from the World Heritage Convention complied with a cabinet resolution which required action in case of developments which might affect sovereignty.

Mr Abhisit said on Tuesday that the next government should decide Thailand's fate with the WHC.

There will definitely not be a coup even if the Pheu Thai Party wins the election and has the legitimacy to form a government, Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha reiterated on Thursday.

The army chief was replying to questions raised by reporters on his return from a visit to Korea.

Gen Prayuth also repeated his call that all sides refrain from trying to drag the military into politics. Whoever is government, the army is duty-bound to protect national sovereignty, he said.

A sked about concerns that fighting on the border might resume now Thailand had announced its withdrawal from the World Heritage Convention, he said fighting was not a solution to existing problems, which need to be solved through negotiations.

Gen Prayuth said he believed Thailand and Cambodia would soon resume talks.

HANOI, June 30 (Reuters) - China has stepped up buying farm products from Vietnam, including coffee, rice and rubber as it grapples with harsh crop weather, but higher prices could stoke inflation in the Southeast Asian nation, government data and state media said.

Rising Chinese imports of Vietnamese agricultural produce, which has seen robust growth in the past decade, will continue at least through the rest of this year, based trade ministry forecasts.

Trade between the old rivals which fought a brief but intense border war in 1979 has jumped so far this year despite strained ties since late May because of a flare-up in a long-standing disagreement over sovereignty in the South China Sea.

Exports to China extended strong growth into June, which would push up prices of Vietnamese commodities, Vietnam's trade ministry officials were quoted by the Saigon Economic Times newspaper as saying in an online report (www.thesaigontimes.vn).

Vietnam's inflation topped 20 percent in June, its highest annual rate since November 2008, the government said.

Growth expected to hit 9.5 percent in the world's second-largest economy for the first half, is stirring demand for agricultural products, while a drought followed by recent heavy rains hit grains output in key growing regions, though China has played down its impact.

China imported more than 100,000 tonnes of white sugar from Vietnam between Jan. 1 and June 15, or around 10 percent of the exporter's total output this year, the report released late on Wednesday said. Vietnam's exports to China between January and June soared 56.6 percent from a year ago to $4.5 billion, the government's General Statistics Office said in its monthly report.

Exports from Vietnam to China last year jumped 49 percent to $7.3 billion, far beyond average annual growth of 16.5 percent in the 2005-2010 period, and revenues are forecast to rise another 27 percent to $9.3 billion this year, Hanoi's trade ministry has said.

COFFEE EXPORT NEARLY DOUBLES

Vietnamese coffee export to China nearly doubled to 16,800 tonnes in the first five months of this year from 9,900 tonnes in the same period last year, data from Vietnam's Agriculture Ministry showed.

China and Russia, where coffee consumption has been rising, have been identified as potential growth drivers for the export business of Vietnam, the world's second-largest coffee producer after Brazil. Students returning from abroad and frequent international travellers will keep China's coffee consumption at 15-20 percent annual growth by patronising new domestic outlets selling high-priced versions of the brew, industry watchers said.

China is the top buyer of Vietnam's rubber, having imported 144,000 tonnes of the commodity between January and May, up 23 percent from a year ago and representing 60 percent of Vietnam's total rubber export in the period, the Agriculture Ministry said in its six-month report.

"Many rice cargoes have gone from here to the north in recent weeks, probably to China via land border trade," said a rice trader in Ho Chi Minh City, lying next to the Mekong Delta food basket.

He said data of land border trade -- using cash payment and via small lots of delivery -- were not available, so while sales believed to be bound for China have been strong, there were no official records.

In official trading, involving payment via banks and deliveries by ships, Vietnam sold 191,000 tonnes of rice from January to May this year, the agriculture ministry said, compared with no official import by China in the same period of 2010.

China is also listed among the 10 biggest importers of Vietnam's tea, timber and furniture, vegetable, shrimp and fish, cashew nuts as well as cassava and cassava chips, the agriculture ministry's report showed.

Vietnam's export of cassava and cassava products to China is forecast to rise to $800 million for the whole of 2011, after $509 million has been generated in the first five months and more than $440 million in the whole of last year, forecasts by a trade ministry official and farm ministry data showed. (Editing by Ramthan Hussain)

(Reuters) - A senior Chinese military officer urged Vietnam to cool public ire and avoid escalating tension between the two communist neighbours, an official Chinese newspaper reported on Thursday, following weeks of friction over the South China Sea.

The comments, part warning and part bridge-building, came from Ma Xiaotian, deputy chief of the People's Liberation Army General Staff, in a meeting with officers from Vietnam's National Defence University, the Liberation Army Daily reported.

Ma did not directly raise a recent South China Sea flare-up in his published remarks, but that was clearly his focus.

Ma said he "hoped that the Vietnamese side will appropriately handle sensitive issues and correctly guide public opinion and popular sentiment", the Chinese paper reported.

"Stop allowing developments to escalate and fester, and avoid complicating problems so they expand and become multilateral and internationalised," the paper paraphrased Ma as telling the Vietnamese visitors.

Relations between China and Vietnam have been strained over the past month because of a flare-up in a long-standing dispute over sovereignty in the South China Sea, where they and other governments stake rival claims over small islands.

Vietnam allowed demonstrations over the dispute outside China's embassy in Hanoi, in a rare officially sanctioned venting of public ire against China, which is both a powerful neighbour and long-time rival. They briefly went to war in 1979.

China and Vietnam have traded accusations over what each calls intrusions into its waters in a sea spanned by major shipping lanes and thought to hold deposits of oil and gas.

Such accusations are not uncommon between China, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Taiwan, which are also involved in long-standing maritime disputes.

The latest tension flared last month when Hanoi said Chinese boats had harassed a Vietnamese oil exploration ship. Beijing said Vietnamese oil and gas exploration undermined its rights in the South China Sea.

The two sides each conducted naval exercises in a show of force but analysts say neither has an interest in pushing the dispute to the point where military conflict is a serious risk. In past days, they have been seeking to cool the tension.

On Sunday, China and Vietnam pledged to solve the dispute through peaceful negotiations. But China remains wary of the United States becoming more deeply involved in the dispute.

Tension between Beijing and Washington over the South China Sea escalated last year when the Obama administration stressed its support for a collective regional solution to the mosaic of territorial disputes in the South China Sea.

China favors dealing with each dispute separately with countries making territorial claims and denounced what it calls "internationalising" the issue. (Reporting by Chris Buckley)

SIEM REAP, Cambodia — It has taken half a century, but archaeologists in Cambodia have finally completed the renovation of an ancient Angkor temple described as the world's largest three dimensional puzzle.

The restoration of the 11th-century Baphuon ruin is the result of decades of painstaking work, hampered by tropical rains and civil war, to take apart hundreds of thousands of sandstone blocks and piece them back together again.

"When I first saw how devastated the monument was, I never thought we would be able to put it back together," said Cambodian restorer Ieng Te, who joined the project as a young student in 1960 and was tasked with numbering stones.

"I am so happy and excited that we were able to rebuild our historic temple," the now 66-year-old said as he oversaw the final construction activities at the site.

On a recent rainy morning workers were adding a final layer of paint to newly-installed wooden staircases at Baphuon, one of the country's biggest temples after Angkor Wat, the largest structure in the famed Angkor complex.

It is one of the last jobs to be done before the temple reopens to the public next week, finally revealing itself in full glory after spending decades in pieces.

Cambodian King Sihamoni and French Prime Minister Francois Fillon will be among the first to tour the impressive three-tier temple during an inauguration ceremony on July 3.

The story of the 10-million-euro ($14m) renovation began in the 1960s when a French-led team of archaeologists dismantled the pyramidal building because it was falling apart, largely due to its heavy, sand-filled core that was putting pressure on the thin walls.

The workers numbered some 300,000 of the sandstone blocks and laid them out in the surrounding jungle.

But efforts to rebuild the crumbling towers and lavishly ornamented facades abruptly came to a halt when Cambodia was convulsed by civil war in 1970.

The records to reassemble Baphuon, including the numbering system, were then destroyed by the hardline communist Khmer Rouge which took power in 1975.

In 1995, when the area in northwestern Cambodia was again safe to work in, the French government-funded project was restarted under the leadership of architect Pascal Royere from the Ecole francaise d'Extreme-Orient (EFEO).

"It has been said, probably rightly so, that it is the largest-ever 3D puzzle," Royere told AFP.

The team carefully measured and weighed each block and then relied on archive photos stored in Paris, drawings and the recollections of Cambodian workers to figure out where each part fits.

"We were facing a three-dimensional puzzle, a 300,000-piece puzzle to which we had lost the picture. And that was the main difficulty of this project," Royere said.

"There is no mortar that fills the cracks which means that each stone has its own place. You will not find two blocks that have the same dimensions."

The restoration of Baphuon, one of Angkor's oldest ruins, was completed in April and Royere said it was a moment of joy for the 250-strong, mainly Cambodian, team.

Finishing the "unique" undertaking was "a collective satisfaction because it was a complicated project," he said.

Built around 1060 by King Udayadityavarman II in honour of the Hindu god Shiva, Baphuon was the country's largest religious building at the time, 35 metres high (114 feet) and measuring 130 by 104 metres (426 x 340 feet).

In the 16th century, a 70-metre long reclining Buddha statue was built into a wall on the second level using stones from the top of the temple.

These two phases of construction, hundreds of years apart, further complicated the restoration, said Royere, and working during the rainy season proved another major challenge.

But those struggles are behind him now and as the Frenchman watched camera-toting tourists amble along the long elevated walkway that leads to the temple, he said he was confident the site would become a top attraction.

Located at the heart of the Angkor park, it "certainly promises to be a great success," he said.

Gazing up at Baphuon, first-time visitor to Cambodia Gayle Sienicki from Washington DC marvelled at the temple's long journey to recovery.

"It's just amazing, I mean truly amazing, that they could take these bits of stones and figure out how to put them all back together," she said. "I'm in awe. I think this is just the coolest thing."

The People's Alliance for Democracy will end its rally tomorrow, because its purpose has been accomplished, PAD spokesman Pathep Puapongpan said on Thursday.

Around 1,000 supporters of the People’s Alliance for Democracy on June 18, 2011 rally in front of Unesco’s Bangkok office demanding the World Heritage Committee remove the Preah Vihear temple from its list of world heritage sites. (Photo by Kosol Nakachol)

Mr Panthep said the PAD will read a statement to announce an end to its rally at 8pm on Friday.

Thailand has withdrawn from the World Heritage Convention, as it had demanded, he said.

It would take the PAD five days to remove its equipment and other items from the Chamaimaruechet bridge near Government House, where it has rallied for several months calling for the government to withdraw from the WHC and against parliamentary endorsement of the memorandum of understanding made with Cambodia in the year 2000.

Mr Panthep said the announcement to end the PAD rally would made in parallel with a major rally of the Democrat Party at the Royal Plaza and of the Pheu Thai Party at the Rajamangala Sports Stadium at Hua Mark on Friday night.

(Reuters) - Cambodian recruitment agencies have decided not to send maids to Kuwait after complaints by human rights groups of abuse by employers, a recruitment official said Thursday.

Impoverished Cambodia is one of Asia's biggest exporters of maids abroad, a valuable source of foreign exchange.

An Bunhak, president of the Association of Cambodian Recruiting Agencies, said Cambodia had not yet sent any maids to Kuwait and the agencies had decided against so doing because of the country's record of abuse.

"We have received a report from our embassy in Kuwait about abuse of maids and also the report from Human Rights Watch," An said.

"We would only send there when there is safety," he said. "According to studies, the respect for maids has not been good so we will not send them to Kuwait and we are doing studies on another country," he said, referring to Qatar.

Human Rights Watch says domestic workers in Kuwait who try to escape abusive employers face criminal charges for "absconding" and are unable to change jobs without their employer's permission.

Indonesia, which has come under fire for its use of the death sentence, has barred its citizens from working in Saudi Arabia after an Indonesian maid was beheaded for murdering her Saudi employer.

Cambodian Buddhist monks and others watch the proceedings in the courtroom at the ECCC in Phnom Penh (AFP/ECCC, Mark Peters)

Former Khmer Rouge leader head of state Khieu Samphan (AFP/ECCC, Mark Peters

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — A top ex-Khmer Rouge leader on trial for genocide on Thursday vowed to cooperate with Cambodia's UN-backed war crimes court to reveal the truth about the country's "Killing Fields" era.

"I personally am not fully knowledgeable about everything, but I will try from the bottom of my heart to make sure that everything is fully revealed," said Khieu Samphan, the former head of state of the brutal regime.

"This is the most important moment for me and for my compatriots who are eager to know and understand what happened between 1975 and 1979."

Along with "Brother Number Two" Nuon Chea, ex-foreign minister Ieng Sary and his wife, one-time social affairs minister Ieng Thirith, Khieu Samphan faces charges including genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The elderly defendants are the most senior surviving members of a regime whose reign of terror led to the deaths of up to two million people from starvation, overwork or execution. The four deny the accusations against them.

As their trial entered its fourth day with a debate about witness and expert lists, the defence complained that the court had failed to admit many of their proposed witnesses.

Khieu Samphan, dressed casually and reading a brief prepared statement, urged judges to accept his key witnesses "in order to have a fair trial and so that the truth and my honesty and fairness can be revealed".

The 79-year-old also paid his respects to the hundreds of Cambodians, including many monks, who packed the court's public gallery, and acknowledged them with a traditional greeting -- the first suspect to do so.

The public face of the Khmer Rouge, Khieu Samphan has never denied the horrors suffered by the Cambodian people.

But he claims he was an intellectual and a nationalist and knew little, until long afterwards, of the devastation that was wrought under the regime.

Led by "Brother Number One" Pol Pot, who died in 1998, the movement emptied Cambodia's cities and abolished money and schools in a bid to create an agrarian utopia before they were ousted from the capital by Vietnamese forces.

The initial hearing is set to conclude on Thursday, with full testimony to follow in the coming months.

HONG KONG—Former Bond girl Michelle Yeoh, who plays Myanmar pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi in an upcoming biopic, says she is "saddened" by her recent deportation from the country.

The 48-year-old Malaysian actress arrived in the country's main city, Yangon, on June 22 and was deported the same day because she was on a blacklist, a government official said Tuesday.

In her first comment on the deportation, Yeoh said in a statement Thursday that she was "shocked and terribly saddened by the action." She said she harbors no ill will and remains fond of Myanmar and its people.

Yeoh said she was treated "cordially" by immigration officials in Yangon but wasn't given a reason for her deportation. Myanmar's repressive government has rejected visa requests from journalists and perceived critics for years.

The star of films such as "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," "Memoirs of a Geisha" and the James Bond movie "Tomorrow Never Dies" was making a "private trip as a tourist," assistant Kit Wong told The Associated Press in an email.

"I continue to cherish hopes to see this country continue its progress toward peace and democracy and to be able to return soon," the Malaysian star said in her statement.

Yeoh visited Myanmar in December to meet with Suu Kyi but her portrayal of the democracy icon in the Luc Besson picture "The Lady" was shot in Thailand. The movie is scheduled to be released later this year.

Suu Kyi, 66, spent most of the last two decades detained by the former military junta. She was released last year, just days after elections that her party boycotted and in which she was barred from being a candidate.

The elections were the nation's first in 20 years, and in March, the junta handed power to a nominally civilian government. But critics say little has changed and the new government is merely a front for continued rule by the army, which took power in 1962.

(RTTNews) - United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday called for a "fair, credible and transparent" election in Thailand which goes to the polls on Sunday.

He urged all parties to shun violence before, during and after the crucial general election and "to accept and respect the will of the people as expressed at the ballot box," a statement issued by his spokesman said.

Ban "expects the elections will be conducted peacefully and in a fair, credible and transparent manner so as to contribute to reconciliation and the consolidation of democratic norms in the country," the statement said.

Following fears that the July 3 election would trigger violence, more than 430 candidates have sought protection and the authorities plan to deploy 170,000 policemen to guard polling stations on the voting day.

Even though there are 42 political parties in the fray, the main contest is between the ruling Democrat Party led by Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and the principal Opposition party 'Pheu Thai' headed by Yingluck Shinawatra, the younger sister of ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who lives in self-exile in Dubai.

Ousted in the 2006 coup, Thaksin fled the country before a Thai court sentenced him in absentia to two years in jail for corruption. The billionaire ex-Premier was also wanted for criminal charges including terrorism. He was linked to a two-month violent protests by his 'Red Shirt' working class supporters, who laid a siege to capital Bangkok last year leading to an Army crackdown in which over 90 people were killed.

The Royal Thai Army, which had carried out 18 coups in the past, is a powerful player in Sunday's parliamentary elections. Army chief Prayuth Chan-Ocha said recently that as a neutral entity, it had no intention of meddling with the election. But his warning that the monarchy was under threat and his appeal to voters to elect "good people" have left no one in doubt that the Army has already made its choice. Political observers interpret his remarks as against Yingluck Shinawatra.

Abhisit is hopeful of winning the election and form the next government. Addressing poll rallies, he denied the allegation of the Pheu Thai party that his government had turned areas of trade with neighboring countries into battlefields. In fact, judging from cross-border trade figures, trade with neighboring countries had considerably increased, he claimed.

There had been problems with Cambodia but they were created by the previous governments under the People Power and Pheu Thai parties, he was quoted by the Bangkok Post as saying.

(RTTNews) - Abhisit called for all concerned to look forward to the election, saying that there had been no conditions which could lead to a coup. Nearly 47 million people are eligible for Sunday's voting.

June 30, 2011Source: XinhuaThe number of the critically endangered vultures in Cambodia has declined 7.6 percent to 267 in June this year from 289 at this time last year, according to the vulture census released on Thursday.

The census was conducted by Cambodia Vulture Conservation Project (CVCP) in cooperation with the ministries of environment and agriculture.

Song Chansocheat, the manager of CVCP, said the census had been done simultaneously on June 10 and 20 in seven different jungles in the provinces of Preah Vihear, Stung Treng, Mondolkiri and Rattanakiri, where the vultures are living.

The vulture census was held by lying out cattle carcasses for vultures to eat and then the vulture population had been counted.

"The census is not 100 percent accurate; however, we can conclude that the number of vultures has been declining in Cambodia," he said.

In an effort to save this critically endangered bird in Cambodia, the CVCP has killed a cow in each of the seven places every month in order to feed those vultures, he added.

Khmer KromSeven Khmer Kampuchea Krom asylum seekers who were deported to Cambodia last week by Thai immigration authorities left temporary shelter at an NGO in Banteay Meanchey province on Monday in order to seek work.

“Three people went back to work in Thailand, three ... in Phnom Penh and one person went to Pailin,” Chea Sokun, provincial secretary general for NGO Independent Democratic of Informal Economic Association, said yesterday.

He said last week that the seven were part of a group of 57 Khmer Krom asylum seekers deported from Thailand in 2009 while waiting for their refugee applications to be processed.

“Khmer Krom” or “Khmer Kampuchea Krom” are terms for ethnic Khmers who live in or have roots in Southern Vietnam.

Deportee Yang Son told The Post last week that the seven had crossed into Thailand because the Cambodian government had yet to award them citizenship.

Sam Rainsy Party lawmaker Yont Tharo, who is also president of the Khmer Krom Cultural Centre, said yesterday that he had not met with the deportees.

Interior Ministry spokesman Khieu Sopheak could not be reached for comment by The Post.

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

VietNamNet Bridge - The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) has posted a slower growth rate of foreign visitor arrivals in the country in the first half of the year than in the same period last year.

International guests coming here in the country for leisure travel are expected to rise a mere 11.2% in January-June, compared to the 40.3% increase a year ago. A VNAT report says the purpose of 1.77 million of the 2.96 million foreigners who have visited the nation in the year to end-June is leisure travel.

In the same period of last year, leisure and business travelers grew the most but it is different in this year’s first half. Around 493,000 foreign people have visited the nation for business, 98.3% of last year’s period.

The tourism industry is in the low inbound season, from April to September, so foreign visitors to the country this month are forecast to fall by around 39,000 from last month but still improve 19% year-on-year.

Foreign visitor arrivals in the first six months are estimated to expand 18.1% year-on-year.

HCMC, the biggest tourism center of the nation, has estimated January-June foreign visitor arrivals in the city at 1.65 million, up 10% year-on-year.

Revenue from the city’s tourism services in the period is projected at VND23 trillion, a year-on-year increase of 24%, said the city’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

In related news, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the HCMC tourism authority on Friday hold a meeting in the city to announce the HCMC International Travel Expo scheduled for September 14 to 17.

The national event at the at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Center in District 7’s Phu My Hung New Urban Area is aimed at promoting joint tourism development in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar.

Four former Khmer Rouge leaders went on trial in Cambodia on Monday on charges of genocide for their involvement in the deaths of almost a quarter of the country's 9 million population in the so-called Killing Fields between 1975 and 1979.

Nuon Chea, known as "Brother No. 2" and the chief ideologue of the Khmer Rouge, former head of state Khieu Samphan, as well as Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot's brother-in-law and foreign minister leng Sari and his wife leng Thirith, the ex-minister for social affairs were put before a UN-backed court, accused of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, torture and murder.

Last year, the same court sentenced Kaing Guek Eav, known as Duch, the chief interrogator at the Tuol Sleng prison, to 35 years in jail for torturing and killing more than 16,000 people.

The trials are the result of continued UN efforts to find and punish perpetrators of crimes against humanity, regardless of statutes of limitations, 32 years after the ouster of the Khmer Rouge. The UN contributed US$100 million to set up the special tribunal and managed through persistent efforts to convince Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, himself a former Khmer Rouge official, to push ahead with the trials despite his concerns that it would create a dangerous rift in public sentiment.

The Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia has gathered accounts from former Khmer Rouge officials about the genocide and those who were responsible for the killings. Reports have called the trials the most important since the Nuremberg tribunal of Nazi war criminals.

There is a lesson in the tribunals for Koreans, because North Korean leader Kim Jong-il and his son Jong-un continue to oppress and starve the North’s 24 million people, sentencing them at will and sending them to political prison camps to be tortured and executed. The Kim dynasty, founded by Kim Il-sung, rivals the Khmer Rouge in terms of the scale of genocide.

After grabbing power in 1948, Kim Il-sung executed without trial or imprisoned hundreds of thousands of his political rivals, including foes within the communist party, pro-Soviet factions, party members who came from South Korea, Christians and middle-class people.

Accounts by North Korean defectors during a hearing in the U.S. House of Representatives last year revealed that such practices are still rampant in the North. Defectors recounted horrible abuses, such as forcing a pregnant inmate to abort their children by seesawing on their belly using a plank, and kicking a starving inmate in the stomach while he stood on his hands after he was caught eating corn seeds dug out of cow dung. There are 480 detention camps in the North.

The atrocities committed by Pol Pot and the Kims show that totalitarian dictators who seek to build a utopia always create Hell instead. But the tragedies in Cambodia and North Korea do not stem merely from distorted ideologies. Genocide results when this is combined with the depraved minds of ruthless dictators. North Korea's butchers will stand trial some day, just like the Khmer Rouge officials. It is the duty of all Koreans to make sure that happen soon and save the North's 24 million people.

The longstanding border conflict with Cambodia is not a factor which could derail Sunday's general election, Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva said while campaigning in Samut Sakhon on Wednesday morning.

The caretaker prime minister was referring to reported comments by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, that Thailand would launch an attack across the border into Cambodia and then use the border conflict as a reason to cancel the election.

Mr Abhisit said he did not worry about the border situation because he was confident the Thai military was ready to protect the country.

He said there was no reason for Thai forces to clash with Cambodian soldiers and the election would definitely not be cancelled.

However, he admitted that polling in certain localities could still be postponed for other reasons.

Hanoi - The number of foreigners visiting Vietnam increased in the first half of 2011 by more than 18 per cent from the same period last year as the global tourism industry saw a recovery, authorities said Wednesday.

Foreign arrivals to the country from January to June rose to 2.97 million, the National Administration of Tourism said.

Asia accounted for the largest numbers of tourists, led by China, Japan, South Korea, the United States and Cambodia.

Cambodian visitors produced the biggest year-on-year increase in tourist arrivals at 77 per cent, followed by China with 52 per cent and Malaysia at 17 per cent.

'Foreign visitors are up partly to the recovery of global tourism but also thanks to our efforts in tourism-promotion campaigns,' said Vu The Binh, chairman of Vietnam Travel Association.

The campaigns included advertisements on CNN, BBC and Chinese television over the past three years.

Vietnam, once one of the fastest-growing tourist magnets in the region, last year attracted more than 5 million foreign visitors, up 34.8 per cent from 2009. The country expected an increase of 20 per cent this year, Binh said.

Vietnam aims to attract 5.5 million foreign arrivals this year and gain tourism revenues of 5.64 billion dollars.

The tourism industry contributed 3.9 per cent, or 3.78 billion dollars, to the national gross domestic product last year.

MANILA, June 29, 2011—Miriam College Women and Gender Institute (WAGI) will publicize, June 30, its research about the social cost of migration in four (4) countries namely Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Ortigas Center, Pasig City.

Titled “Valuing the Social Cost of Migration: An Exploratory Study in Four Countries—Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam, the study had examined the social dimensions and impacts of migration and had identified the social cost of this social phenomenon.

“The study seeks to expand understanding of the impacts of migration beyond remittances and economic benefits [as] most current studies on migration are focused on these economic outcomes—how remittances from millions of overseas Filipino workers have contributed to the stabilization of the national economy. However as WAGI’s research suggests, this kind of analysis highlights merely the positive economic effects of migration, failing to take account the costs or negative effects of migration on human capital, political, social, psychological, and other forms of non-economic outcomes,” read WAGI’s statement.

One of the highlights of the said study, states WAGI, is the separations that are emotionally straining for family members left behind, especially felt among growing children.

WAGI also said that the paper, made possible with the support from UN Women, also highlighted how migration dramatically reconfigures family structures and alters family relationships, continuously changing the roles of parents and children.

The findings will be presented by lead researchers Prof. Aurora de Dios and Dr. Nanette Dungo, with Ms. Carmelita Dimzon of the Overseas Workers’ Welfare Administration (OWWA) and Prof. Malou Alcid of the University of the Philippines College of Social Work and Development as reactors.

WAGI said that the forum is open to all interested—government agencies, non-governmental organizations and international agencies that are working closely with migrant workers.

Inquiries can be directed to Mel Reyes of the Women and Gender Institute through email mmreyes@mc.deu.ph or through phone no. +632 4359229. (Noel Sales Barcelona)

June 29, 2011Source: XinhuaChina on Tuesday called on Vietnam to implement a bilateral consensus on the South China Sea issue that was reached during the China visit of Vietnam's special envoy Ho Xuan Son last weekend.

"We had in-depth discussions with the Vietnamese side on the South China Sea issue during the visit of the special envoy, and the two sides agreed to solve disputes through friendly consultations and avoid making moves that may aggravate or complicate the issue," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei at a press briefing.

Both countries are opposed to external forces getting involved in the dispute between China and Vietnam and vow to actively guide public opinion and guard against remarks or actions that undermine the friendship and trust between the people of the two countries, Hong said.

"We hope the Vietnamese side will implement the consensus together with us and make efforts to safeguard peace and stability of the South China Sea," Hong said.

During the just-concluded visit of Ho Xuan Son, who is also Vietnamese vice foreign minister, he met with State Councillor Dai Bingguo and held talks with Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Zhijun.

The two sides agreed to speed up consultations over a pact regarding the fundamental principles to direct solving maritime disputes between China and Vietnam, pledging to work harder to sign an agreement as early as possible, according to a press release from the Foreign Ministry about the meeting between Dai and Ho Xuan Son.

China has repeatedly stated its indisputable sovereignty over the South China Sea islands and their surrounding waters.

Chinese historical records show that in 1958, the Chinese government claimed the islands in the South China Sea as part of China's sovereign territory, and then Vietnamese Premier Pham Van Dong expressed agreement in his diplomatic note to then Premier Zhou Enlai.

There was no dissension from any country on China's sovereignty over the area until the 1970s, when countries including Vietnam and the Philippines claimed partial sovereignty.

After long-term negotiations and disputes, Deng Xiaoping initiated his proposal on the issue that put aside the disputes and offered joint exploitation in the region.

In November 2002, China and the 10-member ASEAN adopted a Declaration on the Conduct of Parties on the South China Sea, laying a political foundation for future possible commercial cooperation between China and ASEAN countries as well as the long-term peace and stability in the region.

In March 2005, three oil companies from China, Vietnam and the Philippines signed a landmark tripartite agreement in Manila to jointly prospect oil and gas resources in the disputed South China Sea.

Academic claims issue being used to win votes

June 29, 2011Source: Bangkok Post

Thailand's controversial decision to withdraw from the World Heritage Convention is turning into an election issue that threatens to backfire on Natural Resources and Environment Minister Suwit Khunkitti, a leading academic says.

Surachart Bamrungsuk, a political science lecturer at Chulalongkorn University, yesterday said the listing of the Preah Vihear temple as a world heritage site was completed in 2008 but some quarters in the country had refused to accept the truth.

Mr Surachart, a security expert who has been studying issues related to the border conflict between Thailand and Cambodia, said Mr Suwit's decision to walk out of the World Heritage Convention could benefit him in the election.

"I wonder if the decision will help him [Mr Suwit] and his daughter [Suwipa] gain more votes in Bangkok," Mr Surachart said.

He said early polls had showed that the popularity of the Social Action Party, which Mr Suwit leads, was low, but recently it had been rising.

Mr Surachart said there were reports that Social Action had previously held up a plan to reclaim ownership of the Preah Vihear temple as part of the party's policy platform, although the plan was later scrapped.

Mr Surachart said the decision to pull out of the World Heritage Convention could have been expected.

Mr Surachart said that preparations could have been made to exploit the issue for political gain - particularly to seek votes from supporters of the People's Alliance for Democracy, which has been vociferous in its demands for withdrawal from the convention.

Mr Surachart said the government had long known about the Cambodian plan to manage the temple and its grounds, but the public had been given only half-truths.

He also said the government, the army and other concerned agencies had failed to produce evidence showing that the management plan for Preah Vihear encroached on the 4.6-square-kilometre disputed area claimed by Thailand. Claims of encroachment were not backed by solid evidence and this was the reason that Thailand had failed to gain support from most member nations of the World Heritage Committee.

"Walking out of Unesco has put the country in a bad light," Mr Surachart said.

Speaking after a cabinet meeting yesterday, Mr Suwit denied he would benefit from the decision to withdraw from the convention.

He said the decision was not premature and was intended to protect the country's dignity and territorial integrity.

During the past three years he had done everything he could to lobby and convince member nations that the management plan was a sensitive issue and that approving the plan could lead to problems.

He said a resolution relating to Preah Vihear adopted at the Paris meeting of the World Heritage Committee had allowed Cambodia to carry out maintenance and repair work for Preah Vihear and the areas surrounding it and to seek financial assistance from Unesco.

Mr Suwit said he found the resolution unacceptable because it could lead to the loss of Thai territory.

If Thailand had accepted the resolution, it would have given Cambodia a chance to use it to fight at the International Court of Justice for ownership of the disputed areas around the temple.

Mr Suwit said he had discussed the matter closely with Foreign Ministry officials who accompanied him to the WHC meeting before making the decision.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva yesterday said Unesco director-general Irina Bokova had written to explain to him that the WHC meeting in Paris had not formally discussed Cambodia's management plan and to ask Thailand to reconsider its decision.

Mr Abhisit reiterated he would let the next government take up the matter.

Addressing about 2,000 people at a campaign rally outside City Hall yesterday evening, Mr Abhisit insisted the government's decision to withdraw from the World Heritage Convention was meant to protect Thai territory.

June 29, 2011Source:XinhuaCambodia has seen 95 landmine casualties in the first five months of this year, with 20 killed and other 75 injured, a report said on Tuesday.

According to the report from the Cambodian Mine and Explosive Remnants of War Victim Information System, from 1979 to May 2011, a total of 63,901 mine/ERW casualties were recorded. Of the casualties, 19,595 were killed and 44,306 injured from mine/ERW accidents.

It added that 81 percent of the victims were men, 8 percent were women, and 11 percent were children.

Cambodia is one of most mine affected nations in the world as the result of 30 years of armed conflict. Mines had been laid in Cambodia during the decades of chronic conflicts from the late 1960s to the mid-1990s.

The Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC) on Tuesday reported that the domestic and foreign investments in Cambodia in the first five months of this year reached 2.61 billion U.S. dollars, 182 percent rise from 925 million U.S. dollars in the same period last year.

The figure showed that from January to May this year, investments in tourism have hit 2.18 billion U.S. dollars, up from just 17 million U.S. dollars in the same period a year ago.

Besides tourism, there were investments in telecommunication maintenance services, garment industry and agriculture.

A CDC's senior official said more and more investors have been seeing Cambodia's potentials for their business ventures and have more confidence in this country.

"This year, they flocked to invest in tourism as this sector has a lot of room to grow," said Yuon Heng, director of the CDC' s Evaluation and Incentive Department.

The statistics showed domestic investors rated No.1 with 1.23 billion U.S. dollars, followed by China with 1.1 billion U.S. dollars and the United States with 95 million U.S. dollars.

The agreement provides Astra with a majority interest in Petone Mining (Asia) which has the acquisition agreement for the mine. A mining license will be applied for prior to production expansion of the mine.

Online PR News – 28-June-2011 –Adelaide, Australia, June 26, 2011 - Astra Mining, an Australian diversified mining company, has signed an option agreement to fund the acquisition of an operating gold mine in Cambodia which presently has an exploration license.

The agreement provides Astra with a majority interest in Petone Mining (Asia) which has the acquisition agreement for the mine. A mining license will be applied for prior to production expansion of the mine.

The first report on the gold exploration license has been received showing the 222 square kilometre lease in the Ratanakiri Province has the potential to host a significant gold deposit.

Astra Mining CEO, Dr Jaydeep Biswas, says while the report is preliminary and assay data from samples collected in the field are yet to be received, early indications are that a small tonnage of high-grade ore is immediately accessible for processing.

"The site inspected by our consultant geologist indicates an extensive system with the potential to host an Intrusion-Related Gold System, a newly defined deposit classification," Dr Biswas says.

"Similar structures overseas, particularly in Alaska, have been known to host greater than three million ounces of gold resources.

"No indiation of the grade of the ‘high grade’ portions could be ascertained in the field, however we have seen some evidence of a range from between six and 33 grams of gold per tonne."

Astra considers Cambodia to be one of the few remaining countries in the world that has favourable geology in under-explored areas containing high potential for world class, undiscovered gold and copper ore bodies.

"Cambodia is considered a last frontier region for ore deposits, with virtually no coverage by modern exploration techniques," Dr Biswas says.

"A viable, ‘company maker’ mineral deposit for us will require an open-cuttable resource delivering between one and three grams of gold per tonne.

"While early indications are that this is certainly achievable, all information is currently subject to verification as part of our due diligence process involved in the option to acquire a majority ownership in the lease."

Astra’s majority stake in Petone is subject to raising sufficient capital to enable Petone to acquire the gold mine and fund its expansion and final due diligence.

A copy of the report is available at www.astramining.com/projects/gold/vietnam.

Astra Mining’s global portfolio includes gold and tin interests in south east Asia and southern India, coal mines in Australia and Africa, iron ore in India and Africa, and the production of a new high-strength steel technology.

The company has already announced signed Business Cooperation Agreements and Memorandums of Understanding with two Vietnamese groups to enter into joint venture operations for three exploration and extraction licenses in Hoa Binh, which is situated in the Doi Bu gold region of Vietnam, and three exploration and extraction licenses in the Nghn An province.

Astra is in advanced discussions on merging these Vietnamese initiatives with a major Vietnamese resource company of which details will be announced as soon as they become available.

Astra has also confirmed its plans to list on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange before the end of August.

For more information visit www.astramining.com or email investor-relations@wedgewoodcommunications.com

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

PHNOM PENH, June 28 (Reuters) - Cambodian banks are hoping that a surge in agricultural investment will bring in the customers they need to take out loans and put to work the cash flooding into the frontier market's overcrowded banking system.

Cambodia, which is due to open a stock exchange this year, is attracting investment to rural areas as it seeks to move from exporting primary crops to milling rice and packaging seafood to sell abroad.

Foreign donors have vastly expanded rural road networks and firms from Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia and beyond are scrambling to buy land and expand rubber and rice plantations.

But while the streets of Phnom Penh are cluttered with bank branches and cash machines, banks have ignored rural areas.

"We have an operation about 100 km away from Phnom Penh. Every month we physically carry about $50,000 because there is no bank," said T. Mohan, chief executive of Virtus Group, which advises foreign investors in Cambodia.

"We're trying to encourage our bank to set up an operation there in the near future. In six to twelve months from now (our clients in the area) will be looking at millions of dollars in transactions for payrolls, expenses, development costs."

Four senior members of Cambodia's murderous Khmer Rouge regime went on trial this week in a reminder of the bloody past that left the country in tatters in the 1970s.

But the economy has grown strongly over the past decade and Cambodia's banks need to find new ways of lending as their deposits surged 26 percent last year.

"You're seeing a general deepening of the financial sector. There's more people coming into the formal financial sector instead of keeping their money under the mattress," said Stephen Higgins, chief executive of ANZ Royal Bank, partly owned by Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd .

Cambodian banks' loan business has so far been largely limited to lending to property owners, but bankers say they are eager to also finance machinery, warehouses, issue letters of credit and offer the first consumer loans to the country's tiny but growing class of white-collar employees.

"A family that earned $200-400 a few years ago, as employees, can now earn close to $1,000, and maybe even up to $2,000," said Dieter Billmeier, vice president at Canadia Bank, speaking at the bank's headquarters, Phnom Penh's first high-rise tower.

He said Cambodian banks could expand their loan books by up to 10 percent on consumer loans alone over the next two years. Canadia Bank plans to lend about $100 million to the agriculture and food processing sectors over the next 18 months, he said.

TOO MUCH CASH

Lenders in general, however, are struggling to use their cash and bankers say the country's 29 banks are more than the market can sustain. In comparison, there are only 10 banks catering to the much larger Malaysian market.

"Many of the banks here aren't profitable. There's not enough business volume," said Billmeier.

The top four, Public Bank of Cambodia, Canadia Bank, ANZ Royal and ACLEDA Bank, control about 75 percent of the loan market and deposits. For a factbox, click

Even so, Chinese state-owned banks such as Bank of China are looking to expand in Cambodia and bankers say Malaysian lenders such as Maybank and CIMB that already operate there are looking to buy into local banks.

Billmeier said Canadia Bank was looking for an international investor interested in buying up to 30 percent of the bank from its owners, the local Pung merchant family. He said regional banks in Hong Kong, Malaysia or Singapore would be a good fit.

"The business climate has improved a lot in Cambodia without getting any attention," said Douglas Clayton, managing partner at Leopard Capital.

The firm's $34 million equity fund holds a stake in ACLEDA, which started out as a provider of micro-finance and is still today the only bank present in many rural areas.

"The legal environment takes a long time to improve but we hope for one law every year," said Clayton.

In recent months, new legislation has made it easier for banks to seize assets from customers who default on loans, which should allow such loans to expand. A credit bureau providing information on loan applicants is expected to open this year. (Reporting by Frederik Richter)

HANOI, Vietnam—The government says storms in northern Vietnam have killed 22 people as five more bodies were recovered. Five others are missing and 65 have been injured.

The Floods and Storms Control Department said on its website Tuesday that 12 of the victims were killed by lightning. The rest died from falling trees, collapsed houses or were washed away by floods in eight northern provinces before and after Tropical Storm Haima hit the region last week.

Prime Minister and Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva (left) and Natural Resources and Environment Minister and Social Action Party leader Suwit Khunkitti (right)

"Mr Abhisit tried to call the Unesco director-general many times to explain Thailand's wish to postpone the consideration of the Preah Vihear temple management plan [proposed by Cambodia], but Mr Abhisit's telephone calls were not answered," said Mr Suwit, who led the Thai delegation to the World Heritage Committee meeting in Paris last week and made the decision to withdraw Thailand's membership of the WHC.

"Thailand can rejoin the WHC anytime but it must take the country's sovereignty and the Thai-Cambodian border situation into account because they are sensitive issues."

Mr Suwit said the current border problem was caused by former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra's legal adviser Noppadon Pattama, who presented the Preah Vihear issue to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) when he was foreign minister three years ago.

Mr Noppadon today posted a message in his Facebook page, claiming that Prime Minister Abhisit was putting the blame on him for the Preah Vihear dispute.

Mr Noppadon's message says: "My parents taught me not to lie to protect myself and damage other people. Mr Abhisit yesterday defamed me with lies. I forgive him and I'm not angry because Mr Abhisit has no privilege above the law of karma."

Former foreign minister Noppadon Pattama

Yesterday, Mr Abhisit wrote a message in his Facebook page, saying the Preah Vihear problem started when Mr Noppadon signed a joint statement with Cambodia on June 18, 2008 while he was foreign minister and sought the listing of Preah Vihear as a World Heritage site.

Ms Bokova said she hoped "Thailand will carefully consider its future course of action in respect of this important Convention and will continue to be an active participant in the international cooperation for the protection of the world’s outstanding heritage."

(VOV) - The northern province of Hai Duong and the Lao capital city of Vientiane have signed an agreement on cooperation for 2011 and the years to come.

The agreement was signed on June 27 during a working visit to Hai Duong by a high-level delegation from Vientiane led by the province’s governor Khammung Phomthadi.

At a meeting with Bui Thanh Quyen, Secretary of the Hai Duong provincial Party Committee and Chairman of the Hai Duong People’s Council, the two sides compared notes on socio-economic developments and reviewed outcomes of the implementation of the friendship cooperation agreement signed in 2007.

They outlined an array of activities to boost socio-economic and sustainable developments such as exchanging experience, assisting Vientiane in investment attraction and urban development and transfer of agricultural technologies.

Both host and guest agreed to continue annual exchanges of high-ranking delegations and reached consensus on policies regarding the consolidation of the Vientiane-Hai Duong cooperation centre mechanism.

On behalf of the Lao President, Khammung Phomthadi, handed over the first-class Labour Order to Hai Duong province. Vientiane province also presented certificates of merit to the provincial departments of Planning and Investment; and Agriculture and Rural Development.

Picture by the Vietnam News Agency showing live fire drills June 14 on Phan Vinh Island in the disputed Spratly Island chain.

Hong Kong, China (CNN) -- The South China Sea -- a 1.3 million square mile patch of the Pacific Ocean bracketed by China and several Southeast Asian nations -- is dotted with hundreds of largely uninhabited islands and coral atolls that are home to some of the world's most diverse marine life.

Also under its waves lie potentially huge reserves of natural gas and oil. A Chinese estimate suggests as much as 213 billion barrels of oil lie untapped in the South China Sea which, if true, would make it the largest oil reserve outside Saudi Arabia, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

That prospect has cross-stitched the sea with competing claims from China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan. A recent spate of incidents between Chinese and Vietnamese vessels in the sea has fueled a growing rift between the communist neighbors, creating strange bedfellows as Hanoi embraces closer military ties with historic foes in Washington.

The South China Sea has now become a petri dish for swirling changes churning the geopolitical landscape, analysts say, as the rising power of China butts up against the established economic and military might of the U.S.

"How these disputes are resolved will tell us how politics in Asia is going to play out in the next 20 to 30 years," said Mark Valencia, a fellow at the National Asia Research Program and expert on the South China Sea dispute. "This will be the blueprint."

Why is this happening now?

The competing stakes in the South China Sea are nothing new: territorial claims to the islands stretch back decades, even centuries, according to some of the nations vying in the sea grab.

The dispute took center stage earlier this month when defense officials from 28 Asia-Pacific nations gathered at the Shangri-La hotel in Singapore. China, for the first time, sent its top soldier to the annual meeting -- General Liang Guanglie -- who spoke at length about China's peace-loving nature and focus on cooperative development and security in the region.

His olive branch was met with skepticism, said Alan Dupont, a regional security analyst who was at the meeting. "It was a packed hall, and there were a lot of hostile questions directed to China from (participants from) Asia and the United States," said Dupont, director of the Centre for International Security Studies at the University of Sydney.

Many questions seem to reflect a fear of growing Chinese assertiveness in the disputed waters. In late May, the Vietnamese Ministry of Defense reported that a Chinese patrol boat slashed a submerged cable of a oil and gas survey ship operated by PetroVietnam, the state energy firm. A similar incident happened on June 9 -- just four days after Liang's address -- when a Chinese patrol boat cut cables from a Vietnamese ship doing seismic surveys off its southern coast, Vietnam's Foreign Ministry reported. Beijing maintains that Vietnamese vessels have been illegally surveying in Chinese waters and harassing Chinese fishing boats.

Vietnam is not the only nation skirmishing with Chinese patrol boats. The Philippines, on the western border of the South China Sea, also reported Chinese boats cutting cables of a survey ship and threatening to ram its boats in March, according to Manila's Foreign Ministry.

China claims both nations were exploring in disputed waters. China says it is not to blame. "If you want to know why there is tension in South China Sea, I think you have to go and ask the country or countries that have made all the provocations," Cui Lei, China's vice minister of the Foreign Ministry, told CNN in a rare interview last week

How much oil and gas is under the sea?

China claims there could be enough oil and gas to rival Saudi Arabia's reserves, but those claims have yet to be proven, according to a U.S. Energy Information Administration report. Still, there are enough proven wells in the South China Sea to tantalize the players, which explains why oil and gas survey vessels are at the heart of the recent incidents.

"I think the critical reason now in the increase in tension is the rising energy insecurity in the region, particularly in China," Dupont said.

The smaller nations in the region are feeling the pressure to stake their claims for oil and fishing rights, or risk losing them to a more assertive China, analysts say.

"There's a sense coastal states like Vietnam and the Philippines need to use the economic area more urgently, so they need to catch more fish now, they need to discover more oil now," said James Manicom, an expert on maritime disputes at the Balsillie School of International Affairs in Waterloo, Canada.

Why do so many nations claim the waters?

At the heart of both disputes is a term of international maritime law known as "Exclusive Economic Zone," where nations are allowed sole rights to fish and develop resources within 200 nautical miles of a country's shores. That has created interest in nations' grabbing uninhabited islands -- often little more than rocky atolls -- to extend their zone.

China lays the broadest claim, covering all of the Spratly Islands in the southern part of the ocean and Paracel Islands to the north -- essentially most of the South China Sea. Taiwan and Vietnam also claim the entirety of both island groups, while Malaysia, Brunei and the Philippines say they own part of the Spratlys. All but Brunei occupy some of the disputed islands with naval bases, airstrips and even resorts.

"It seems to me in East Asian states that if you act like you own a piece of a claim, you do -- possession is nine-tenths of the law," Manicom said.

There is plenty of oil being produced along the undisputed coastal areas of the South China Sea -- Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam are all net oil exporters while China also produces a chunk of its offshore oil from the South China Sea, said Kang Wu, an energy expert at the East-West Center in Honolulu.

"If they want further develop production and reduce the decline of aging oil fields, a move into deeper water for drilling has become important for every country involved," Wu said.

What's the U.S. stake in this?

Last week the U.S. -- which has a defense treaty with the Philippines -- agreed to help modernize Manila's military during a Washington visit by Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario. "While we are a small country, we are prepared to do what is necessary to stand up to any aggressive action in our backyard," del Rosario said at a press conference with U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton.

The United States waded into the water dispute a year ago when Clinton attended the annual defense meeting at the Shangri-La in Singapore. Clinton rattled Beijing when she offered to mediate the dispute and suggested a peaceful outcome was in U.S. national interests. At the time, Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi called Clinton's comments "an attack on China."

Washington changed tack last year after a high-level defense meeting in which Beijing told the U.S. that the South China Sea was a "core security concern for China," Dupont said. "Previously only Tibet, Xinjiang and Taiwan were mentioned as a 'core security concern'."

Beijing considers Taiwan a renegade province and struggles with separatists movements in Tibet and Xinjiang, so having the South China Sea mentioned in the same breath "really raised alarm bells in Washington, and brought Clinton to Singapore," Dupont said.

The shipping lanes of the South China Sea are among the busiest in the world and a vital lifeline for China's growing hunger for commodities such as oil, natural gas and iron ore.

To hedge against a more assertive China, Southeast Asian nations are turning to Washington. Vietnam and the U.S. have announced a new round of joint military exercises, and the U.S. recently held joint drills with the Philippines. "There have been rapid defense engagements (with the U.S.) in the past 12 months," Dupont said. "The Philippines is welcoming the U.S. back after kicking them out of their naval bases a few years back."

"This is an opportunity for the U.S. to get back in Asia in a big way," Manicom added.

Who's the bad guy here?

General Liang's charm offensive in Singapore earlier this month -- and a similar trip to the Philippines after the March incident with a Filipino vessel -- shows Beijing's concern about rising tensions in the region, analysts say. But several cautioned that blaming China would be a misinterpretation of the forces at work in the South China Sea.

Nations liberally interpret maritime treaties to their own advantage, experts said. "There is a sense of sanctimoniousness on all sides," said Valencia. He points out the U.S. regularly cites the UN Convention on Law of the Sea -- which allows free navigation of seas within the 200-nautical mile "Exclusive Economic Zones" at the heart of the South China Sea debate. Yet the U.S. has never actually ratified the treaty.

"What they're talking about is free reign for their spy ships and planes," Valencia said. "From the China perspective its, 'yeah, you have right to freedom of navigation, but does that mean you can stick an EP-3 (U.S. Navy reconnaissance plane) up our nose anytime you want?' "

In recent disputes with Vietnam and the Philippines, "China says it was not the one who made the first move," Wu said. "China claims that these other countries went deeper into disputed areas. The reaction from China is believed to be firmer than in the past. On the one hand, a firmer reaction is different from a muted reaction. On the other hand, firmer doesn't mean China is about to take over the disputed areas by force."

China's Foreign Vice Minister Cui told CNN: "China has done everything possible to maintain stability in the region, and we always believe that any disputes, any possible disputes over territory, over the water in the South China Sea, should be resolved through bilateral negotiations and dialogue," Cui said. "We still have the same position now."

While China apparently wants to iron out territorial disputes individually with each country involved, its neighbors have other ideas. "The Southeast Asian nations are now starting to get together and talk about common approaches to China, which is the last thing Beijing wants," Dupont said.

The growing rift has eroded much of the goodwill China has built with its neighbors as all economies in the region benefited from Beijing's rise in financial clout, overtaking Japan last year as the world's second wealthiest nation, analysts say. "Whether it's right or wrong, China is looking like the bad guy," Manicom said. "That perception is a problem."

Why are the stakes rising?

The fear on all sides is that the rising tenor of the South China Sea debate, coupled with increased U.S. military involvement, is creating a 21st Century Cold War in Southeast Asia. Tensions over a similar perennial dispute between China and Japan regarding a group of islands in the East China Sea boiled over last year when Japan arrested the crew of a Chinese sailing vessel, sparking nationalist demonstrations in both countries and a war of words at the highest levels between Tokyo and Beijing.

Similar demonstrations recently erupted in Vietnam over territorial claims in the South China Sea, and computer hackers from both sides have attacked websites in the opposing country, posting nationalistic images and messages, according to Chinese media reports. On Saturday Vietnamese and Chinese officials met and promised a peaceful resolution to the water dispute, according to China's Foreign Ministry. Yet on Sunday protesters gathered outside the Chinese embassy in Hanoi for the fourth consecutive week of demonstrations, according to local media reports.

There is increasing concern that nationalist sentiment could force nations to adopt a more belligerent tone both on the seas and in negotiations. "The big fear here is not that any of the countries want to have a conflict ... but as these tensions go up, countries get pushed into a position domestically that causes them to take a harder line," Dupont said. "The big concern is miscalculation, misunderstanding and misperception.

"We just came out of probably the most peaceful 25 years Asia has ever seen," Dupont added. "We're at a tipping point here at the moment and the next 12 or 18 months could be very important."

Prayuth warns clashes becoming more likely

June 28, 2011Source: Bangkok Post

Troop build-ups on both sides of the Thai-Cambodian border have heightened fears of clashes following Thailand's withdrawal from Unesco's World Heritage Convention.

Ta Muen Thom temple in Phanom Dong Rak district of Surin is open to visitors again as the area has been free of border violence for almost two months. Visitors can enter the temple between 9am and 3pm every day. - NOPPARAT KINGKAEO

Army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha said he had ordered troops stationed along the border to be prepared as the chance of clashes was high.

His comments came after the Second Army reported Cambodia was bringing in more troops to the border yesterday.

Gen Prayuth said he had decided to boost Thailand's troops and reinforce bunkers as a precaution. The moves were purely defensive and not intended to indicate military aggression.

The army chief stressed troops were duty-bound to protect the country's sovereignty.

The army chief said Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva had also ordered the army to be on full alert along the maritime border with Cambodia off Chanthaburi and Trat.

Gen Prayuth said Thai and Cambodian soldiers have been in contact on a regular basis since the last border clashes.

"Admittedly there is some distrust between the two sides. Troops from both sides are positioned close to each other. Chances of military clashes are high," Gen Prayuth said.

Following Thailand's withdrawal, it was necessary for the senior military leaders of the two countries to discuss what steps should be taken to avoid a military conflict, he said.

"Don't be frightened, because I believe no one wants to fight and that holding talks is the solution to the problem," Gen Prayuth said.

The army chief yesterday met Natural Resources and Environment Minister Suwit Khunkitti by chance at Suvarnabhumi airport and praised him for making the right decision to withdraw Thailand's membership of the World Heritage Convention.

Keep it orderly ... A soldier watches over students at Phum Srol school in Si Sa Ket’s Kantharalak district near the Thai-Cambodian border amid the conflict between the countries over the small overlapping area near the Preah Vihear temple ruins. - Chanat Katanyu

Gen Prayuth was leaving for South Korea just as Mr Suwit was returning from Paris.

The decision to withdraw was made by Mr Suwit, who led the Thai delegation to the World Heritage Committee meeting in Paris on Saturday.

Army spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd yesterday said Thai military representatives had met for talks with their Cambodian counterparts.

Thai soldiers proposed that the two sides pull their troops away from the disputed border area near Preah Vihear temple to ease tensions.

But the Cambodians rejected the proposal and troops on both sides remained on alert, Col Sansern said.

Col Prawit Hukaew, spokesman for the 2nd Army, yesterday said Cambodia had brought in more troops, more weapons and reinforced their military bases along the border.

Col Prawit said the 2nd Army was closely monitoring the movements of Cambodian soldiers and was ready to respond if the Cambodian military started anything.

He said the 2nd Army believed Mr Suwit's decision to withdraw from the WHC was intended to protect the national interest and the country's sovereignty.

Col Prawit said relations between Thai and Cambodian soldiers in the border areas remained healthy. Unit commanders in the area have been in regular contact.

However, Col Prawit said that any decision by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen will be a decisive factor in the border situation.

Prime Minister Abhisit yesterday said the cabinet would today discuss the legal implications of Thailand's decision to withdraw from the World Heritage Convention.

Mr Abhisit said government agencies would be instructed to study and report on the legal implications for Thailand and steps which needed to be taken by the next government after Sunday's election.

He also said the withdrawal would have no effect on negotiations to resolve border disputes between Thailand and Cambodia.

Thailand would still adhere to the memorandum of understanding signed in 2000 in further negotiations with Cambodia, Mr Abhisit said.

Dialogue is a main mechanism to address border conflicts and must proceed, Mr Abhisit said, adding that Thai land had the right to reapply for membership at a later date.

The People's Alliance for Democracy, meanwhile, has said it will call off its anti-government demonstration planned for Friday.

"We have now won our demand for Thailand's withdrawal from the World Heritage Convention, although we have yet to achieve our ultimate goal in clearing all Cambodian people from Thai territory," spokesman Parnthep Pourpongpan said.

He urged the government to formally inform the International Court of Justice that Thailand will not accept its ruling concerning Cambodia's call for it to interpret its previous verdict on the Preah Vihear temple.

"Without doing so, the government may not be able to protect the country's territory," he said.

Unesco director-general Irina Bokova has expressed regret over Thailand's decision to withdraw from the World Heritage Convention.

She hoped Thailand would reconsider its decision.

Meanwhile, tensions were also rising near Ta Kwai temple in Surin's Phanom Dong Rak district following Thailand's withdrawal.

A military source said on the Cambodian side at least 300 Cambodian soldiers had built bunkers and artillery guns were deployed opposite Ban Thai Niyom Pattana on the Thai side.

There is more to the Spratlys than the possibility of oil being found in the surrounding waters.

This I found out during a symposium on a “common use” policy to govern disputed resources, including territory like the Spratly Islands. What I remember from the international symposium, which took place more than a decade ago, was that the Spratlys host more than just possible rich oil deposits. Indeed, marine experts testified that the Spratly Islands and the surrounding reefs and waters are virtual “nurseries” for fish and other forms of marine life on which millions of people in the countries disputing ownership of the islands—the Philippines, Vietnam and China—depend on not just for livelihood but sustenance.

Some speakers even warned against the “development” of the island group, much less oil drilling and exploration, which they said could lead to catastrophic loss of marine life and thus threaten the food security of nearby countries.

So many years have passed since I wrote about the symposium proceedings, but it seems governments and environmental authorities have chosen to ignore these warnings. In the intervening years, I don’t recall any official from China, Vietnam or the Philippines calling for a “shared” use of the Spratlys, or of common efforts to protect the islands, including having the islands declared an international protected area.

What we hear these days instead are bellicose declarations of national sovereignty, especially from China which relies on a centuries-old map to claim ownership of the isles. Vietnam has officially protested China’s use of “gunboat diplomacy” to assert its claim to the Spratlys, carrying out live-fire drills to show its military capability. President Aquino meanwhile has blustered about our country’s historical and territorial rights, sending a navy boat to the islands to assert our claim, while subtly pleading for US intervention in the dispute (like a school boy running to an older brother when confronted by a bully).

* * *

China speaks with both ends of its mouth on the Spratlys. Vice Foreign Minister Cui Tiankai urges restraint on the part of the United States which has declared its support for “allies” in the dispute. The US, the minister says, should limit itself to urging “more restraint and responsible behavior from those countries that have been frequently taking provocative actions.”

But how else do we characterize China’s actuations, including sending navy ships to the disputed waters and arresting Vietnamese and Filipino fishermen who venture too close to the claimed islands? Are these not also “provocative”?

A news report over the weekend on talks between the US and China regarding the West Philippine Sea (our new term on the South China Sea) presents a much-subdued and conciliatory American stance. “We want tensions to subside. We have a strong interest in the maintenance of peace and stability, and we are seeking a dialogue among all of the key players,” Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell said.

Is this just diplomatese before guns and aircraft carriers are brought in to do the talking?

* * *

Perhaps the US, which strives to maintain its hegemony over the Asia-Pacific region in the face of China’s economic and military strength, can play the role of environmental enforcer instead. It could broker talks not about questionable borders or historical claims, but about the role the Spratlys play in ensuring a continued supply of fish and sea life in the countries bordering the islands. It could sponsor yet another symposium on the importance of protecting this endangered habitat for generations of Filipinos, Vietnamese, Chinese and other peoples. After all, hunger also plays a role in political destabilization.

And wouldn’t this be a good time for the United Nations to step into the fray? If China bristles at the idea of the US as a referee in the Spratlys dispute, perhaps the UN could wield its mandate for “world peace.” And finding a solution like common use could quell for now nationalistic rhetoric, as well as open the eyes of the countries’ leaders to the real stakes in the Spratlys.

* * *

My own deepest personal sympathies to Former President Fidel V. Ramos and former First Lady Amelita “Ming” Ramos on the passing of their second daughter, Josephine or “Jo” yesterday.

It was with some surprise that I learned Jo Ramos was already in her 50s, since the image etched in my mind was of her during the Ramos years, youthful and energetic and even playing the drums during a stage performance.

In a statement, President Aquino noted that while “the loss of any loved one is grave, indeed, the demise of a child is particularly painful for parents.” I can only offer a prayer that they remain strong and resolute in the wake of Jo’s loss.

* * *

Noted psychologist Dr. Maria Lourdes “Honey” Carandang is giving a talk on “Truth-telling and National Healing: Claiming our Dignity and Integrity as a People” this Thursday, June 30 at the St. Luke’s College of Medicine Auditorium in Quezon City.

Carandang herself is still “hurting” after she was sued by the parents of a boy for libel and “child abuse” when she wrote an independent appeal in behalf of the boy who was subjected to degrading treatment in a prime-time TV game show. The charge of child abuse is particularly galling because she has spent her entire professional life defending the rights of children and healing families.

On the subject of her talk, Carandang says: “Lying, which has become normal and a way of life, erodes our self worth and dignity. Our country keeps repeating the same mistakes because we have not really recognized and uncovered the lies to bring out the truth.”